Bees-n-Pollen

Posted on May 10, 2026 by Tina

The cool and sometimes wet spring has encourage the dreamsicle-orange flowers of Desert Globemallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua, to perform spectacularly. This pollen-rich, simple-petaled bloom attracts a number of different pollinators, but my honeybees are big fans of the flowers, certainly all-in with the bounty of the beautiful blooms.

Bees land in the blooms, dig in, and roll around the golden glory, exiting the flower with a good sprinkling of pollen as they make their way to other flowers and eventually back to the hive.

The Globemallow is a cool season bloomer, producing its showy flowers until summer’s heat sets in. If a significant June or July rain event occurs, the shrub is happy to deliver another dose of orange crush, much to the pollinators’ appreciation and the gardener’s delight.

Gettin’ the Good Stuff

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Tina

On a cloudy, not-too-windy morning, I strolled through my front garden, stopping to admire one of my Globe Mallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua, shrubs. Its soft silver-green ruffly foliage, paired with the stunning dreamsicle orange blooms melts my gardener’s heart.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a streak of movement, though it took a minute or so for me to see it again, catching sight once the flash landed. It was a zippy thing, this flash, not lingering on any surface–until it did. The mystery critter proved to be a Green Sweat Bee, Halictidae, and was all in with the luscious mallow blooms.

I was pleased to see this bee at the mallow, though not surprised: this plant attracts a wide variety of pollinators. I now have enough areas of full sun for this gorgeous native North American plant to grow it in several areas of my garden.

Go get the good stuff, little bee!

Color Wheel

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Tina

In the color wheel, red and yellow bookend a range of oranges. There’s no book-ending in my Central Texas garden, though. The color wheel, well-represented throughout, is engaged, even in winter.

This past week saw the first blooms of the Coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens. For now, only one bloom in this drooping cluster is willing to flounce its yellow petticoat.

Clusters of coral-red blooms, skirted with golden-yellow frills, bloom on and off throughout spring. When the rains are generous, this vine flowers well into summer.

Petite Hymenoxys, Tetraneuris scaposa, sends up sunny winter daisies, each of which dance in chilly breezes atop slender stems.

The Hymenoxys bloom in spring and occasionally in autumn; flowers hunker down in dormancy during the hot months of summer. The evergreen, grassy clumps from which hail the stems and blooms, are always present, permanently marking the plants’ homes.

As mentioned in my last post, orange is this winter’s signature color. Mexican honeysuckle, Justicia spicigera, is covered in tubular orange goodies, eager for pollinators to awake and work.